WOMEN LEADERSHIP AND WORKPLACE ISSUES

Women Leadership and Workplace issues

Women Leadership and Workplace issues

Introduction

In almost every social, political, and economic sphere, positions of leadership are largely held by men. An overview of some of the statistics reveals the current level of imbalance. In the early 21st century, on a global political level, only 15 countries are currently led by a woman serving in the role of president, prime minister, or governor general. Women constitute 17.3% of the world's parliamentary representatives, although this is subject to wide regional and national variations, with the Nordic states achieving the highest average representation at 41.6% and the Arab states the lowest at 9.6%. Rwanda has the highest proportion of women in parliament, with 48.8% of seats held by women, followed by Sweden (47.3%), Finland (42%), and Costa Rica (38.6%). Women hold 7% of the world's ministerial positions, but again there is variation. In Sweden, 52% of cabinet portfolios are held by women.

Within the economic sphere, women's leadership within the top levels of business is limited; only two CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are women. The percentage of directors in the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 that are women is 3%, a figure that has remained static for some years. (Mesch, 2008)

However, within this general outline indicating a general lack of women's participation in the top levels of leadership, more complex and sometimes contradictory trends may be discerned. In the legislative sphere, women's representation has increased from the 11.3% of parliamentary seats held by women in 1997. Within cabinets, women tend to be disproportionately represented in fields such as women's and children's issues and social affairs. Evidence suggests increasing success for women at the very top levels of business. The number of top FTSE 100 companies with more than one female director went from 12 in 2000 to 29 in 2006. Within the top 20 companies in the FTSE 100, 16 (80%) have female directors, compared to 8 (40%) of the bottom 20 companies. More women are securing positions at the junior and middle management level. Overall, women constitute 30% of managers in Britain, compared with their 45% share of employment. However, other recent studies also indicate that this trend toward increasing women's participation may stagnate or begin to fall, with fewerwomen moving into senior management roles. The number of female senior managers working in businesses in the United Kingdom has fallen by over 40%. In 2002, 38% of senior management positions in the FTSE 350 were occupied by women; in 2007 it is 22%. (Bergman, 2005)

Exploring the Gender Imbalance in Leadership

The phenomenon of the “glass ceiling” was first outlined over 20 years ago in 1986 in an article appearing in The Wall Street Journal. It refers to the invisible and apparently intractable barrier that prevents significant numbers of women moving into the highest levels of leadership, despite their increasing prevalence at lower and middle levels. There are many studies as well as much anecdotal evidence concerning why there is a continuing gendered imbalance in leadership roles. Some theories maintain that innate biological characteristics make females less suited to the demands of leadership than men, although these theories are not widely accepted. Other accounts focus upon the underlying structural ...